Basilissa
by Wild Concerto
Summary: "You think you are the king. But watch the Queen conquer." Reylo, epic slowburn. Basically speculation on what's going to happen in Episodes VIII and IX. Cover art by Snufffie.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note:**

 _Things I shouldn't be starting/doing :_

 _\- This story;_  
 _\- This story;_  
 _\- This story;_  
 _\- THIS STORY;_  
 _\- Oh, did I say this story?_

 _Anyway, it's been bugging my head for weeks now, so might as well type it down and be done with it. What can I say? Star Wars took over my life. I'll be updating my other work in progress in the POTO fandom, don't worry, but as I said for that one as well, I'm a flaky updater. College is a bitch, but my education is very important, and as much I hate to say this, it has a priority over my writing. Also, sleep deprivation is not helping, and when I have time to write, it's only late in the evening, precisely at the moment where my brain refuses to work. Gah._

 _This story is T-rated for now. It might go higher, but it's going to be smut-free, because I can't write smut properly (well that sounded weird)._

 _Please note that I'm not in any way a SW expert. I do my best, and Wookiepedia is my friend, but while I did enjoy the films in my childhood, I really got into it when TFA came out. I've read a few things about the EU, did my homework for this fic, but if there are any inaccuracies, please don't throw flames at me, and just tell me politely._

 _Excuse any grammar mistakes or bad writing style you might see. English ain't mah first language, and even though I got better since I started writing fanfiction in English (because pah, who's gonna read fanfiction in French anyway?), there's still a lot of work to do… And I know I should get myself a beta, but I don't know where to look. Le sigh..._

 _Also, big hi-5 to all the wonderful Reylo community on Tumblr. You guys write the best meta and fanfiction ever, draw the best fan art ever, and keep on doing so even with all the haters lurking around. You guys are an inspiration, and you rock. You rock so bad._

 _Also, please comment. I'm a bit afraid my fic might not be the most original around, even though I do have some ideas for later that might have not been explored yet, but while I do not want to look like I'm begging (except that I TOTALLY AM), comments and kudos keep me writing._

* * *

She is not alone.

However, it isn't like she imagined it.

It seemed so close, however, when she was with Finn, Han and Chewie. If it wasn't for the urgency of the moment, she would have cried all the tears of her body when they had come for her on Starkiller base. And even with Han dead, and with Finn in a coma, there was still Leia. Even today, she still feels that tight, motherly hug she had given her just before she left to find Luke Skywalker.

He wasn't too pleased she had found him, but the initial unease had thankfully faded away within the next few days, and her training had started.

There is still something standing between the two of them. Rey wanted to know why he hid on this faraway planet while Leia was desperately looking for him. She had heard again and again about how Kylo Ren destroyed everything Luke tried to build. She also knew now why he took the difficult task of creating a new Jedi Order on his shoulders.

The first victims the First Order made, nearly twenty-five years ago, were his own wife and his son.

On that same night, the First Order made itself known throughout the galaxy, establishing its menace of a reign of terror. Luke Skywalker also realized that his father was not the Chosen One and that there was no balance in the Force. He had discovered it, and at the most painful price. Despite him being known as the last of the Jedi, he definitely wasn't one in the proper sense of the word. Master Yoda had taught him only for a very short while, compared to the usual training a Jedi used to get. He knew the task was too big for him. And yet, with Leia and the Resistance against the New Republic's apathy…

Rey believes there is probably more to Luke's exile. But the last of the Jedi is a man of secrets.

He feels her frustration. He knows there are so many things she wants to know, about him, about herself.

 _He knows_. But he can't tell.

There is that wall of secrets forbidding him from gaining her trust. And, with the knowledge that he is hiding something essential from her, she feels belittled. Luke can't help but become uneasy with her attitude, carrying a certain shade of darkness with it. For someone who's supposed to be trained the Jedi way, it is not a good thing.

It reminds Luke of his nephew rather painfully.

And Luke doesn't want to repeat the same mistake.

Rey bears her name well. Light radiates from her. He felt it the minute he sensed her presence on the island. But there is something nagging at her, growing, then regressing, something not quite bright – but somehow, Luke senses it isn't coming from her. It surprises him, but it's a good surprise. Rey has so many traits about her a Sith, or at least a stand-in for one, could take advantage of: her eagerness for praise, and her immediate drop of mood whenever she didn't receive it; her small fits of rage, or panic, or both at the same time (though nothing really terrible, compared to others), and that whenever she felt she wasn't in control, revolting against such a situation like a lost child forced to play grownup…

 _There is no passion, there is peace._

It is a sentence Rey repeats to herself, again and again. Yet, it doesn't feel right. A Jedi has no attachments. It's something Luke seemed to insist more and more on as the days pass. Yet, for Rey, such a concept seemed inhumane. After spending so many years alone on Jakku, wishing for someone to come back and take her away from that place, that her new goal is letting go of her attachments to help her friends… Rey chuckles at such an absurdity. It doesn't make any sense, and yet, what keeps her going is that she is doing all this for the greater good. It is a fair enough reason, she muses, though not as convincingly as she wants to.

But there is more.

It'd been a week since her arrival on Ahch-To that one night, she had awoken in a panic, pain piercing through her bones. It was worse than anything she had ever felt – and Rey's life had never been an easy one. All she could manage to do was to curl in a ball and just wait for it to stop, and all Master Luke could do was to put a soothing hand on her head, which was helpful, in a way, since she knew that there was someone near her, and that she wasn't drowning, but the torture was still there.

When it ended, she sobbed shamelessly, unable to mutter anything.

 _Why?_ It rang in her head, again and again.

 _I don't know. It's…_ was Luke's only response.

The next day, she feels empty. Not that kind of soothing emptiness after meditation. No. She could have been staring into a void, and just about to plunge without a second thought into it while knowing that doing so was to condemn herself to forever be slave to time, gravity and space, with only her somber thoughts as companions and eventually becoming maddened by them.

After staying for a week and a half on top of the mountain where Luke had built his home, she decides it is time for her to explore Ahch-To, or least, what is not covered with water. Might as well busy herself, think of something else, anything else than _that_.

There are mostly rocks, towards which she has developed a certain hatred to because of those boring, endless exercises where she has to stack them using the Force. There is some green, though not as much as she would have liked. She decides to look for flowers. They always made her happy, and whenever she managed to find or steal some on Jakku, it was like a little miracle reminding her that life was worth living, and that there was still hope.

She finally finds some – tiny white things at first, and then, as she goes further, bigger blooms, bigger than anything she has ever seen before. She can't help but let out a squeal of delight. It's the first good surprise she has had for a very long time. She plucks one, observing the white petals, to remark that they have lines on them. She wasn't sure, however, if they were purple or grey.

That despair she has felt earlier that day fades away, and she lets herself collapse in the middle of the flowers, canalizing as much joy and peace as she can to appease her anguish.

It works, and for the first time since she has arrived on Ahch-To, she feels peaceful.

 _Thank you._

She jerks up, the moment's haze broken. It's hard not to recognize that voice. It could have been a figment of her imagination, but if it's the case, it is popping up at quite the wrong moment. Why would she think of _him_ now?

Kylo Ren remembers her indeed. And he knows more than she does.

Of course, he had been punished by the Supreme Leader. Of course, it was his fault if Starkiller Base had fallen. Of course, it was his fault if he had been beaten by a girl who had never fought with a lightsaber before.

Punishments become harsher with time. After all these years, he _should know better_. What Kylo Ren tells himself to endure them is that he deserves them because he wasn't good enough, and that his grandfather hated failure above everything else…

He had to heal on his own, of course. It had always been this way. And the wounds he had before having to confront the Supreme Leader weren't helping.

He knows what he has to do. But for the first time since what seemed like forever, he doesn't want to do it.

 _If Snoke discovers anything about who she is, if he does obey his order and bring her to him…_

It makes no sense. He shouldn't discuss the Supreme Leader's orders. He knows something wasn't right, and not knowing what it was drove him insane, and in his crippled state, he can't even vent about it the way he usually does (bashing on everything surrounding him, of course). Meditating wasn't going to help. He can't help but snort that he has actually thought of it. To the point where he is, it isn't even an option. He has tried it so many times when Ben Solo was still alive, only to have those voices in his head distracting him and mentally whipping him whenever he tried resisting.

There isn't anger, nor despair anymore. Just emptiness, engulfing him like a void. He wished he could go mad just to gain some sort of unconsciousness and be free.

But today…

Today, he sees life instead of cold metal. There is that island again, and with the flowers he sees and feels in his fingers, it could be paradise. He feels her grin, and even her laugh. He can't help but twitch his lips upwards as well. He has forgotten how to really smile.

He tries to acute his senses. He can feel the sunlight on his face.

"Thank you," he says out loud.

It is at that moment that he senses that she jerks up, and the moment's magic is broken. She nags at the connection, trying to understand, and he reaches out as well.

Those words he had told her during the interrogation on Starkiller base comes back to them, since the exact same feeling of an energy they recognized in each other is there again.

 _Don't worry. I feel it too._

Rey tells Luke everything that night. This time, since he has a bit more details, he's able to give a diagnostic.

"I… I could be wrong, but I think it might be a Force Bond."

"A what?"

"A connection, if you prefer. Jedi masters and their apprentices often had those. It permitted them to communicate thoughts and images."

Luke prefers not mentioning the whole part about one being able to search the other's memory. This whole Force Bond matter is already enough for Rey to swallow for today. He knows everything a Force Bond could lead to. Everything is seemingly conspiring against him.

"But he's not my master," Rey snaps. "Even though he asked me to be his apprentice."

"You said you felt something similar to what happened today when he tried reading in your mind to get the map? It was your first exposure to someone who was Force-sensitive. He's strong with the Force. So are you. Sometimes, it all just… clashes. So this… bond is probably accidental."

Rey shrugs. The technicalities now seem very insignificant. "All right. So how do I break that connection?"

Luke seems definitely uneasy. "That is… a bit harder. Both parties must agree to break it, but… it isn't easy. The best way to break it is to have one of the members dying. But even then, the survivor feels emptiness afterwards."

Rey almost wants to add: "Even if we're talking about a major pain in the arse?" but she is wise enough to shut her mouth. Luke, however, seems to read in her mind.

"It is especially dangerous in your case. The stronger you are with the Force, the stronger the Force Bond is."

"So what am I going to do?" Rey's voice is practically breaking at this point. For once, she's a child begging for help, and Luke's distress is only enhanced by the fact that he clearly knows there is nothing much he can do.

"Be careful. Control your thoughts and your emotions. That's all I can say."

For a moment, a pang of revolt invades Rey. _It's always the same stupid tune – control your emotions, control everything._ She chases it away.

But there's that little pesky voice that's whispering to her that she's right, and that Luke is wrong.

For once, she doesn't suppress it entirely.

* * *

" _Ben, this is Rey. Rey, Ben."_

 _Ben Solo knew right away that that little shrimp couldn't be trusted._

 _Saying that he had run into her because he wasn't watching where he was going is a very weak argument. She's so tiny an adult could have stepped on her and not noticed. He had felt her crashing on his left leg, while her tiny voice screeched: "Hey! Watch where you're going!"_

 _He was going to simply snort and keep on going, but he had suddenly felt a small fist punching on his leg. He stared in disbelief and annoyance at his attacker, a little girl… no, rather a shrimp. But something in that so-called little shrimp's stance stopped him. Her face was red, scrunched up in an expression so dead serious and angry Ben wasn't quite sure if it was hilarious or even downright terrifying. He had to remind himself for a split second that that little shrimp looked not much older than three years old._

 _He then saw Uncle Luke just beside her, and it was at that moment that the presentation was made._

 _But even then, they kept on staring at each other, like adversaries waiting and wondering who would attack first. It was only Luke's coughing that brought them back to reality._

" _Well, you just met and you're already arguing. An apology won't hurt. An apology from both of you," he added, sternly, as he saw a glimmer of victory in both Ben and Rey's eyes._

 _Ben lowered his head and blushed, muttering "Sorry…" rather reluctantly. A pang of revolt came up. He dismissed it with not as much ease as he could usually manage. Rey remained silent. Luke cleared his throat, clearly showing it was now her turn. Her face scrunched up once more, and suddenly, she straightened and lifted her head, making her strangely looking older than she was._

" _I'm sorry," she piped. "I'm sorry that you're big, and stupid, and… and… and…" She closed her eyes tightly, obviously thinking really hard. "And you have big ears and a big nose!" she lashes out._

 _Ben's ears heated. "I do not!" he shouted, before he even realized what he was doing. But he brushed it off, their stare contest resuming and lasting for ten seconds until Luke finally broke out of his shock and burst into laughter._

" _You two should consider having your own holo show," he finally managed to say between two hiccups. "All right, then. Ben, can I ask you to show Rey around? She's just arrived here. And please… try not to argue too much," he added, before turning away, trying his best not to think too much of that little incident to chuckle again._

 _The matters he had to attend to, anyway, are anything but amusing._

 _He preferred, in order to keep himself serene, to remember, from a few hours ago, Rey curled up in his arms, asleep._

 _But that reminded him of a little boy just a few days old and a woman, the kind who'd tear the galaxy apart and order it to get back together with a single roar, at that moment humming softly at the little bundle of joy in her arms._

 _He could save Rey, at least. He had found her before the ones who had killed her parents did. According to her former guardian, she was only a few weeks old when it occurred, and said guardian had managed to sneak her away from a certain death._

" _You better take good care of her," she had told Luke. "I'm gonna miss that little rascal, but she'll certainly be safer with you."_

 _A certain sad satisfaction came across him, bringing him some sort of welcomed relief. He couldn't save Mara nor his son from the First Order. The Jedi order was soon to be resurrected so such a thing would never happen again,_ to anyone _. Still, could it really fill the gap?_

 _No. But at least he had saved Rey from an uncertain and dangerous future._

" _So?" Leia's hologram asks, seemingly unfazed, even though Luke knows her well enough to tell that despite her calm and almost professional façade, she's just as anxious as he is. "Are you sure her parents are those whom we think they are?"_

 _Luke is thankful Leia isn't too explicit. He doesn't want to think about it. It makes him sick, and in so many different ways. He hides half of his face in his metal hand, the cool metal bringing him a well-needed relief._

" _Yes. There's no doubt of that. We must simply make sure the First Order never gets a hand on her. If they do… I don't want to imagine what could happen."_

* * *

 _Ben was surprised how easy it was to have Rey trailing behind him. His steps were large, and that little shrimp had to practically run in order to keep up with him. He wasn't going to slow down for her, and anyway, she seemed like such a little ball of energy that, if such a thing was possible, he'd probably walk straight to Tatooine and she'd follow, and never get tired._

 _Her tongue never tired as well. He tried his best, he really did, but whenever he attempted showing a certain room to her, explain its use, and so and so forth, she just asked a question that had absolutely nothing to do with the place they're visiting or his explanations. The fifth time, he gave up, and he simply brought her outside._

 _Perhaps that was just what she needed. Fresh air. The first thing she did once she passed the door was to squeal and run straight ahead._

 _Ben let her be. As long as she didn't get out of his sight, it was probably fine. He went towards his favorite tree, sat down and crossed his legs to meditate._

 _The more time flied, the more it became difficult for him. He used to hate meditating. It seemed as if Uncle Luke always chose the moment where his legs itched him the most to have him sit down in perfect tranquility for what seemed like hours._

 _Thankfully, when it became even more boring than usual, his friend would appear just at that moment. It was welcomed._

 _But he felt like he was slipping, as his friend had become more insistent, more brutal, even. There were even some times where he had trouble making up excuses for him, and that what he did to him, what he told him, what he showed him just wasn't right. The more time went by, the more he felt nervous, unstable, while he dreamt of disturbing pictures and sights he certainly never witnessed, and that was what scared him the most, for he had no idea where they came from. He started telling himself that meditating was probably a good idea, in order to attain that serenity Uncle Luke bragged about all the time._

 _But it never conveyed any kind of peace._

 _He closed his eyes, forgetting about Rey for a while. He cleared his mind, trying to think of something that usually brought a fond smile on his features. Uncle Chewie picking him up as if he weighted nothing more than a feather and carrying him back to the Millenium Falcon despite his cries of joyful protest…_

Red lightening through Luke Skywalker's chest.

 _His eyes snapped open, and he had to keep himself from screaming. The mental image was thankfully gone as quickly as it had come. Instead, the shrimp was just in front of him, holding out a bouquet of crumpled flowers to him._

 _Ben couldn't help but blink in astonishment. That was… unexpected, to say the least. Her mouth was twisted in a pout, but he sensed no malice. It was rather refreshing. All he could manage to do was to pick up the bouquet while awkwardly muttering "Thank you"._

 _Rey's face lit up as she smiled. And at that moment, Ben couldn't help but muse on how well her name fitted her._

" _What was that for?" he asked her._

 _Rey tilted her head. "Because you're a Big Stupid. But you're a nice Big Stupid."_

 _Ben snorted. But this time, he was amused. "And you're a Shrimp. But you're a nice Shrimp."_

 _Her face scrunched up again and she stuck out her tongue. And so did Ben. But it ended up with her giggling, and it being so communicative Ben couldn't help but do the same and laugh of his own childishness._

 _Luke smiled when he saw them come back in the building. It's hard not to, even after that conversation he had with Leia about Rey, but also Ben._

 _Perhaps having Rey around might help, and alter his worries as well as Leia's._

 _It was a rather charming sight. Rey had flowers in her hair, disposed in such an untidy way it was positively artistic. Ben was holding a messy bouquet in one hand. The other was holding Rey's, and he was careful to walk slowly while she strutted by his side. Luke remembered how he had attempted to take Rey's hand earlier when they had arrived at the Jedi academy, and that she had snapped it out. Now, Rey had actually reached for Ben's hand._

 _The Jedi academy got quickly used to see Rey following Ben Solo everywhere like a puppy. Though sometimes, it was she who dragged him around. Every time, it was when they went outside. She loved the outdoors, the green, and the flowers. She kept on calling Ben Big Stupid, and he kept on calling Rey Shrimp. But in their case, it became a form of endearment, in some way._

 _Ben's friend even seemed to fade away._

 _It was strange to say, but somehow, he was thankful for that._


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note:** _Yes, I am fully aware I am the slowest updater in the universe._

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

Not so good memories come to Luke's mind as he sees Rey, her back against a rock, her head buried in her knees, instead of doing her exercise of the day. It is hard to blame her. The bond still troubles her, and he knows she has trouble sleeping at night. She tries to contain her feelings, her thoughts, as she grows increasingly paranoid that _he_ might see something she doesn't want him to see. Sometimes, she can't help but chuckle at that precaution, since anyway, _he_ went into her mind once.

It had been terrifying. While _he_ was searching for something that was obviously not a map, tugging at some strings of her memory that suddenly seemed extremely blurry, she saw images she didn't recall at all, but also images she knew didn't belong to her, but to _him_. They were invading her, and what she was trying to do was to keep him out of her mind, until she realized she couldn't do it anymore. It was then she ordered him to get out of her head. She was actually surprised, at that moment, of how authoritative her voice had sounded. She was certain no sound was going to be able to get out. And most especially, _he_ had obeyed.

But she had learned. And Rey was a survivor, and had to live according to the good old principle of an eye for an eye. When she entered his mind, she saw weakness she never expected to see, and especially, what would hurt him the most.

She had thought at that moment that perhaps he wasn't bad to the core. There was a sentiment of wandering she couldn't help but compare to her own. After all, she had felt hers very deeply during the interrogation, just as much as she had felt his.

She had genuinely believed that he would reconcile with his father. Her gut instinct told her that it was what he actually wanted. She had been nervous, as she had observed the scene unfurl under her, but her optimism got the better hold of her and she quickly became positive everything would arrange for the better. Han Solo would get his son back, and she would find her parents one day as well.

When the lightsaber pierced Han, however, her first reaction was misunderstanding. She had been wrong, and she _hated_ being wrong. In the past, she had never been the kind to hold a grudge against anyone, may it be those fellow scavengers who had left Jakku stealing some ship she had fixed and which she wanted to sell for portions, leaving her hungry self behind without a word of goodbye. There was also Finn who had lied to her about his involvement with the Resistance, but at the time, she was so scared that he would leave her behind she had been unable to get angry at him. She knew she should have been mad. But like every time, she wasn't able to.

With Kylo Ren, however, the betrayal was there, and it bit her deeply. This added to Han Solo's death, and he was definitely on the list of people she knew she would never forgive. Ever.

She finally breaks from her thoughts, as she noticed Luke had sat just beside her.

"Tell me," he says softly, "did… did Han ever tell you Ben had been my student once?"

For a moment, Rey is confused. Then she remembers. Ben, of course. It was Kylo Ren's… other name. She wants to turn away in frustration. She cannot believe people like Han Solo and General Organa can give birth to such a monster.

"I think he mentioned something like that," Rey finally replies. "He said something about an apprentice destroying everything you had tried to build."

Luke smiles sadly. "It is true. It's a bit more complicated than that, though."

He is glad to see Rey turning towards him, intrigued. He had feared at first she would chuckle and refuse to hear more. Luke can't help but think that while she has every reason in the galaxy to despise his nephew, such behavior is not at all the Jedi way. He has to try to extinguish such a feeling as quickly as possible. Or else…

"Ben was my first apprentice. Other came soon after him, but he was the first to arrive. Leia was planning to leave him under my responsibility for years. He is truly the most promising apprentice I ever had. The Force is strong in my family. But I doubt anyone has been as strong as he is. Not even my father. We have quite a legacy behind us. Our father Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader were one. The Republic didn't know about that for years."

"They didn't?" Rey asks in astonishment.

"Certainly not. It would have ruined Leia's career as Senator, and there was so much to do build a New Republic. She couldn't permit that to happen. We simply revealed we were twins, born form Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala. That's all. People thought my father had died during Order 66 like almost every Jedi and that my mother had died in childbirth. The Emperor was very careful to separate Anakin Skywalker from Darth Vader. It helped. We all agreed not to tell anything to Ben."

"Yet… he knows."

"Yes. We planned to tell him when he would be older and more… receptive. He already had so many expectations on his shoulders. But there was more. When he was still a child, he showed… rather worrying behavior. It didn't help that he was quite powerful from a young age, and that it often resulted in… accidents. Nothing too serious, but still. Han didn't know how to handle him right. I don't blame him. He's never been at ease with those things. Leia was busy and had a duty towards the Republic. They both loved each other, but their relationship has never been… let's say, stable. And Ben was a boy who especially needed attention."

"Why is that? I…" Rey is about to mention that she has grown without her parents, but she manages to watch her tongue. Luke, however, guesses the rest.

"The First Order is led by Snoke. I… don't know where he comes from. I have never even met him. I don't think so, at least. All I know is that he was strong enough to influence Ben ever since he was born, and Leia wasn't able to do anything to fight him off. She hoped I could do something about it. Meanwhile, I had built a life of my own. I got married, and we had a son. When the First Order made its first attack, my wife and my son were the first victims. That's when I decided to found a new Jedi Order, and when I was ready, I took charge of Ben. I encouraged Leia and Han not to contact Ben too much. I don't know if it was a mistake."

"Why not?" Rey shouts in shock. "Wouldn't he want to see his parents? That's…"

"I thought it was better this way. You see… I'm not fighting with the Resistance for a reason."

"Why? General Organa needs you. We all need you. That's one of the reasons why I've come."

Luke sighs. "I'll finish this story first. I was a busy man. I tried my best to help Ben, but I was as unsuccessful as Leia. Whenever he tried to lock Snoke out, he would get mentally tortured. Sometimes, he managed to resist. But the more the time went, the more it became difficult. Thing is, he became better and better at hiding it. And that's my fault."

"What? What do you mean?"

"I probably oversaturated him with serenity and all of that. What I tried to do to bring him peace didn't work. He managed to escape those speeches by hiding things from me. And I started thinking everything was starting to get better. There was something else that helped for a while. It didn't last long."

For a moment, she sees Luke glancing at her. She frowns, not understanding the meaning of it. He quickly turns away.

"Anyway, I had to leave. Ben was around nineteen at the time. I left him in charge with two other padawans his age. I thought everything would be fine. But Snoke had gone after another student, and had managed to manipulate him into searching some archives containing information about my family. The padawan told everyone about it and convinced them to go after Ben. He wasn't very well-liked, and Snoke probably just increased their paranoia. What happened is that Ben tried to defend himself, and… I don't know if it was him or Snoke. Padawans died."

For a moment, Rey stays speechless.

"Ben had done accidents before. He's never been able to fully control his powers. But he had never harmed anyone that severely… much less killed anyone. He ran off. I never heard of him afterwards for years, even though I searched for him with Han and Leia like crazy. Didn't help that we could feel he was alive somewhere. It was hard. There was so much damage done, because everyone knew about our father. The Jedi Academy closed since I couldn't be entirely trusted. Well, some people in the New Republic were looking for the first excuse to get rid of me and any Force-users. They had their share with Darth Vader. They were very distrustful. Leia kept her place in the Senate for years, even though it was hard. Then one day, about four years later, the First Order attacked some Senators. Ben was among them. Leia lost her place in the Senate that day. That's when she founded the Resistance."

"But how could he have turned against all of you?"

"I don't know. I don't know what happened during those four years. I'm not sure I even want to know. Sometimes, you have to turn someone to the Dark side through pain. And…" Luke pressed his metal hand against his forehead. "Imagining what he must have endured is already enough."

"And you? What did you do?" Her tone is accusatory.

"I looked for him. When he revealed himself as Kylo Ren, he made his intentions clear: he wants to finish what Darth Vader has started."

"And what's that? Rebuilding the Empire?"

"No. Turning me."

"You?"

"Yes. I am strong with the Force. My father saw it, and attempted to turn me to the Dark side. And I know I'm not immune to it."

"You're not? But… it can't be…"

"When I confronted Darth Vader for the last time, he threatened to turn Leia instead if I didn't comply. I got angry, and I gave in to the Dark side and lashed at him."

For a second, Rey wants to tell that he is right, and that he has every reason to react in such a way. All she can do at that moment is to imagine herself at Luke's place and imagining Finn threatened in the way Leia has been. But she controls herself, realizing with horror that just there, she has proven to herself how weak she is.

"That's one of the reasons why I hid here. No one will find me, and the galaxy is safe. If I joined my nephew, I don't know what would happen."

Rey closes her eyes during Luke's last sentences. It was a lot – no, too much information to swallow all at once. She has received the answer to many of her questions, but somehow, it has left her even more confused than before. About Ben, Kylo, whatever his name was. She doesn't even know, now. Both of them seem like two entirely different people.

"I may be the last of the Jedi, but I didn't even get the training one would usually get. Mine lasted barely a few months. I proved myself to be a terrible teacher. Now, I help the best I can. By staying away, and finding an answer for Ben."

"How?" Rey hears herself ask.

"I found out the first Jedi temple was located here, on Ahch-To. I came here for answers. Answers for Ben."

Luke gets up. "That's enough for today. But ponder on what I've said, Rey. The old Jedi forbid strong attachments for a reason I've learned the hard way. And don't keep any hate or resentment in your heart. It can only lead to no good."

* * *

 _The more time went by, the more Ben had trouble to sleep._

 _His mother had always told him that not sleeping would definitely be a bad thing if he wanted to become a Jedi one day. They always had to be awake and alert._

 _But it wasn't his fault. It was those nightmares again. And the Voice would come and soothe him, tell him everything was fine, and that they would protect him._

 _It didn't put him back to sleep quickly, though._

 _At those moment, he would always head outside and go stargazing. He only hoped Uncle Luke or anyone else wouldn't find him and ground him for not being in bed in the middle of the night._

 _He had found a little spot outside, just beside a small tree. Uncle Luke had planted it with him when he had arrived at the Jedi Academy. Ben was quite tall for his age, and the tree barely reached his shoulders at the time. His nine year old self had trouble believing it would become taller than he was, but now, despite its still skinny trunk, the tree was indeed higher. It reminded him of himself. He was now a tall, awkward, gangly pre-teenager, and he felt incredibly clumsy for a future Jedi. The tree would eventually grow into something strong and resilient. And that was what Uncle Luke hoped for his nephew._

 _Ben, however, wasn't too sure he would succeed._

 _He sat down, curled up in a ball and took a few deep breaths, trying to relax. But barely a few seconds later, he smelled something burning near him. As he lifted his head up, he felt heat and saw smoke coming right behind him._

 _Was his tree burning?_

 _He didn't hear the usual crackle that came with wood burning. What he heard was a heartbeat. It was a faint sound, but it grew louder and louder until he finally gathered the courage to look behind him._

 _There was no tree burning. It was at its place, its leaves swinging softly with the wind. There was only Rey._

" _What are you doing here?" he asked quite roughly. "You should be in bed."_

 _She crossed her arms and scrunched her face. She was quite fond of that facial expression whenever she was going to prove him wrong. "You should be in bed too, Big Stupid. You're going to get grounded too."_

" _Hey, Shrimp, you're not going to tell Master Luke?" Ben did his best to look as standoffish as he could. But he was admittedly genuinely worried Rey would go and prattle about his nocturnal sprees to Uncle Luke._

 _She shrugged. "I get up at night too. I can't sleep. I'm never tired enough." This didn't surprise Ben. Rey was such a ball of energy, and she was always the first one to be awake in the morning and to run everywhere, rushing through ranks of half-asleep padawans, including Ben himself. She collected either annoyed groans or tired yet sincere laughter as she chattered to each of them, but always to come back to Ben and hug him tightly. He was always the grumpiest of them all, but every morning, Rey always managed to pull a smile from him._

" _That's why you're such a grumpy head in the morning," she pointed out, despite Ben glaring at her. She giggled. "Why can't you sleep?"_

 _Her childlike innocence didn't notice how uncomfortable Ben suddenly seemed. "I do nightmares. That's all."_

" _Oh." Her voice sounded very flat. It was a rarity. For a second, it worried Ben. She twisted her hands together, in a way only an old woman could. For some reason, such a sight brought a shiver down Ben's spine._

" _Do you do nightmares too?"_

 _She hesitated before answering. For someone usually so spontaneous, this made Ben's concern increase. "I did one. It came back… three times." She signed three with her fingers._

" _Are they really scary? Do you want to talk about it?" he asked softly. He remembered how his mother used to do the same with him, when she was present, of course. Every time, he hoped finding some sort of comfort, only to see his mother seem just as, not to say even more terrified than him while he would tell her what he would see. She did her best to hide it and reassure him the best she could. Someone less sensitive than Ben would have found peace. But he could feel his mother's fear, and this most deeply._

 _She sat down, crossing her legs together. She bit her lip. "I dream that I'm really, really high, on top of a cliff," she started, gesturing up with her arms. "And there's no one around. Well…" She took a deep breath. "There's someone mean in the dream telling me that there are people down the big cliff." She let out a small sob. "And he tells me I pushed them. I don't believe him, but it's really mean of him."_

 _Impulsively, she jumped on Ben, hugging him tightly, while all he could do was to hug her back._

" _I don't think you'd push anyone down a cliff, Shrimp. I think you'd rather save them."_

 _Rey immediately got up, straightening herself like a soldier. "Of course I would. I'm going to be a Jedi one day. And you'll get in trouble and I'll have to save you because you're a Big Stupid."_

 _In another circumstance, Ben would have been annoyed. But he was so genuinely happy of seeing Rey smile again, and so quickly, all he could do was laugh._

 _In the meantime, Rey was looking at the ground, seemingly hesitating. "Do you want me to sleep with you?" she asked. "To chase the nightmares away. And you'll chase away mine."_

 _It started that night. And for the nights afterwards, Ben didn't know what kind of special power Rey held, but as long as they slept in the same bed, the nightmares never came back._

* * *

 **Author's note:** _Happy to announce we'll be seeing Finn in the next chapter! Of course, this is a Reylo fic, but expect Finn to play a big part in this story! ;)_


	3. Chapter 3

Hey everyone!

No, I'm not dead, for the record. Let's just say I'm part of a certain writing project, I had deadlines, plus I had my finals in May, so because of that, this story sort of came... second. But now, I have more time.

Also, this story will be revised and re-posted. I'm not entirely satisfied with some parts of it, and there are a lot of things I want to change a bit, since I talked about my outline to a friend and we changed a few things together. Nothing really major, but still, and I want my story to stay consistent.

I can't tell when the revised chapter 1 will be posted, but until then, stay tuned!


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